Miller leads Georgia women over St Bonaventure

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) -- Khaalidah Miller is trying to show Georgia coach Andy Landers that she wants to regain her starting position with the No. 8 Lady Bulldogs.

She made a pretty good case Friday, scoring 22 points with five steals against St. Bonaventure that led to an easy 84-48 victory by Georgia.

''Offensive isn't her problem,'' Landers said. ''She can score. She can definitely score.''

The problem, he said, has been her effort on the defensive end.

''She's someone that started her first two years and could start again this year,'' Landers said. ''We'd like for her to be a little more aggressive defensively. She got her hands on some balls. I think she's trying and that's a good thing.''

Sparked by Miller, the Lady Bulldogs (6-0) came away with 12 steals among the 24 Bonnies' turnovers.

And both coaches said that was a key to the game.

''They're very good in transition and with us turning the ball over and missing shots, they got to have that opportunity,'' said St. Bonaventure coach Jim Crowley. ''There was just too much pressure on our defense because our offense wasn't at a high level.''

Landers was pleased with that end of the game. ''We forced turnovers,'' he said. ''The second half, we shot it well. We ran a little bit better transition in the second half but we didn't rebound well.''

Tiara Griffin scored 14 points as the Lady Bulldogs had five players in double figures.

Nyla Rueter scored 10 points to lead the Bonnies (3-2).

Georgia got out to a 7-0 lead then extended that to 29-10 midway through the first half.

''It always feels good when you can get out and get a little momentum and get your confidence up early,'' Landers said. ''I think that's what it did. It gave us a little confidence right away in what we were doing, which was defending hard, so we defended that much harder and it snowballed into a good thing.''

By halftime, the lead had grown to 48-23, with four players scoring at least seven points, led by Griffin's nine.

St. Bonaventure had not given up more than 52 points on the season and the Bonnies could not handle Georgia's pressure, turning it over 24 times.

Crowley knew his squad would have some issues with the Lady Bulldogs.

''They're obviously a very good basketball team,'' he said. ''We tried to take away the inside but they shot the ball really well. Then when you extend out, they go inside.''

That all-around play is what Landers seeks in his squad.

''At times we did a little bit of everything well,'' he said.

The Lady Bulldogs on Saturday will face the winner of the later game between New Mexico and North Texas.